The Basement Room
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: This is for the Support Stacie auction. The story takes place in S4, rating is M, and it's AU--doesn't follow any events that took place on the show. But it does follow the show, if that makes sense. LL stars and the basement is a big setting...


_**Disclaimer**_: Nothing is mine!

Hi Readers! This fic is for the Support Stacie auction. Since I've always had, and apparently DO still have trouble following directions, this is not a holiday-themed story as it was supposed to be. I apologize for that, and it's something I noticed WAAAAY too late. Like 'click' to submit kind of late.

The story is S4 and rated with a big fat M. I want to send a special thank you to ikilledkenny and Boston4 for buying me. Never thought that I'd say something like that. They're awesome and were so easy to work with. That's easy to say since they let me do whatever I wanted to do. LOL. But they really were great. And hopefully they can just overlook the fact that I missed the entire thesis.

Okay, if you notice the title (Go ahead and look down. I'll wait…..) hehe, you'll see that a basement is involved. I created one. There isn't one where I put it, but it's there in this story. If you are upset and offended by this revelation, then you may click away. I'll get over it in time. For the ones that do read on, I hope you like it. And to my fantastic bidders, I hope it lives up. Enjoy the story.

**The Basement Room**

Lorelai and Rory moved to Stars Hollow when Rory was only a year old. For the next nine years, they resided at the Independence Inn, courtesy of the owner, Mia. Lorelai became an employee there. First a maid, then a manager. She oozed of potential. Over the years, she scrimped and saved wherever she could. Her efforts were rewarded when she was able to purchase a home for herself and her child.

She named the home crapshack. The crapshack is what she called it. She loved her house. There was no doubt that she loved her house. She had gone from the Gilmore Mansion-of-terror to a hotel room to an outdoor, cramped shed, then to her own home.

Of course she loved her house.

There was, however, no hiding the amount of work that it required. It was old. Something always needed to be fixed or inspected. She called it the crapshack for that reason. But still, it was an endearing term. If an outsider were to use the term then it wouldn't be well-received at all.

Lorelai lived on a prayer. She took her inspiration from Bon Jovi and did just that. Her income was satisfactory. It wasn't the best. Major repairs were just something she couldn't afford. So she prayed for low estimates and kind labor costs. If the repairman liked her pretty blue eyes and dazzling smile enough to give her a bigger break, she only saw that as prayers being answered. She would never perpetuate it, but she never saw a reason to discourage it either.

If boys could be boys without penalty, then girls could damn sure benefit and be shamelessly opportunistic.

Lorelai met Luke in August of 1996.

He was a blessing in disguise. At first, a thorn in his side, she later came to be the exception to his gruffness. Or the closest thing to it. They became good friends.

Luke helped to keep her roof from falling in. He was an all around fix-it man. Phenomenal. Could fix anything. And he did it all free of charge. In fact, if Lorelai tried to offer him payment, he'd rant and rant until apologies and retractions poured from her mouth.

When Lorelai first toured her home, she loved the space. There was a room for her, a room for her kid, two full bathrooms, an attic, and a basement.

Rory had her space. That was important. They had an upper room for storage. That was also important. The basement was what drew a smile.

Growing up with Richard and Emily in upper class society, Lorelai was used to basements covered in valuable artifacts and paintings. Floor to ceiling riches. Nothing but weird and useless things that, in a child's eyes, begged to be dropped and destroyed.

Seeing the crapshack's basement set forth so many possibilities. Lorelai loved movies. She loved games. She loved having fun and feeling young and free. As her eyes roamed the dank area of that below level space, she began to envision. She saw posters. She saw disco lights. She saw the eighties come alive in an instant.

The best decade ever.

It was the one that she'd missed out on since having a baby at 16 years old.

In her imaginative eyes, she and Rory sat around that basement playing games, watching movies on a huge television, looking up at fluorescent stars on the ceiling, and talking about life, dreams, love, fears—all while listening to quiet sounds on compact discs. She saw herself and Rory enjoying their isolation and freedom in that happy space.

The crapshack hadn't been named yet when that illusion of grandeur took place. When it finally got the label, reality rushed in, and fantasy was pushed out.

The basement did get filled over the years. But not with posters, expensive sound equipment, and glow in the dark stick-ons. It was, instead, filled with boxes and old furniture. Cobwebs came shortly after.

Clutter became the main attraction.

When Rory went off to college, that became the first time in years that Lorelai really took note of her space. She opened the door to the basement, and clicked the light on. It was a lonely unshielded bulb that hardly illuminated the huge space below. She scanned the area. It looked unkempt. And forgotten. Lorelai placed a hand on the banister to descend. She took one step before running into a spider web with her face. With a shriek, she backed away, turned off the light, and left.

Over the next week, plans that had long since been laid to rest flooded Lorelai's mind. The basement was actually supposed to have a purpose. It wasn't supposed to be a second storage area like it had somehow become.

That bothered her.

Rory had left the house, and Lorelai now had more space than she knew what to do with. Still, when she thought of the basement and all of its unused potential, she felt as if she had let it down in some way.

With the renovation of the Dragonfly going on, it was wonder that she even had time to think of anything, let alone a tiny, ignored project like the basement of her house. But once the memory entered her mind, it wouldn't let up.

It was mid-evening when Lorelai entered the diner. Luke had just poured a large mug of coffee for a customer and he'd turned to set the pot back on the burner.

"No, no, don't even think about it, LD." She gestured and made it to her stool. "Turn that pot back around here."

Luke turned back and rolled his eyes. "LD?" he asked with mild interest. He took a diner mug out and poured her beloved liquid into it.

"Your initials, Luke." She said that slow. Said it like she really was worried about his need to question the letters.

He finished pouring. "Ah. I got it now."

Lorelai shook her head and grasped her mug. "You're slow today."

"Tired," he countered.

"Being tired doesn't turn _my_ brain off," she mocked.

"Different strokes for different folks, I guess."

Lorelai took a long sip, following Luke with her eyes. She swallowed fast, making herself able to question him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

He now stood at the end of the counter putting on his jacket.

"I've got somewhere to go," he answered.

"Like where? I just got here. You have to keep me company. If you leave, who am I supposed to talk to?"

He sighed while fixing his collar. "Wasn't that you who just bragged about having the brain that never sleeps? I'm sure you can figure something out."

"Who's going to run the diner?"

Luke gestured toward the kitchen with his head. "Caesar is here, and Lane is on her way over."

"Oh." She poked her lip out. "Well, where are you going?"

"Nosy much?"

"Only when it comes to you and _your_ personal business. The rest of the town is safe."

He smirked. "I'm going to Dale's house. Do you know him?"

"No."

"He's just a guy I know. He has some wood that he was trying to get rid of, and--"

"Ooh dir--"

"Real wood, Lorelai."

"Well, _say_ that next time. Geesh."

He rolled his eyes and went on. "He's going to give me a good price. I was thinking of putting up a spice rack and some other stuff around the apartment. I'll find something to do with the wood."

"A spice rack?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. "Oh yeah. I forgot you were a cooker."

He buttoned himself up. "Yup, that's me. Cooker, baker--"

"--Mover, shaker."

"Exactly. You want something to eat? I can put in an order before I leave," Luke offered.

She shook her head. "No, I'm okay."

Luke tapped the countertop. "Alright then. I'll see you later. If you change your mind, just let Caesar know."

"Okay. If you want to leave me here all by myself, then okay."

"There are plenty of people in here for you to irritate. You'll adjust."

"Can I ride with you?"

Luke frowned. "For what?"

"You're coming right back, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, I didn't want to ride with you if you're going to the fishing hole right after."

"Why would I pick up wood then go fishing?"

"That was an example, Luke."

"What do you want to ride with me for? I'll be back in fifteen or twenty minutes."

"By then I'll be bored out of my mind, though," she whined. "You can't have _Luke's_ without Luke."

"So you want to ride," he concluded flatly.

Lorelai smiled wide. "Yes, please!"

"You're a really special case." He walked behind the counter and pulled out a to-go cup. He took Lorelai's mug, poured her half-cup of coffee into it, then filled it the rest of the way with liquid from the pot. He snapped a lid on the cup, then passed it to her. "Let's go," he said.

She smiled. "_On the road again. I can't wait to be on the road again_," she sang. "Thanks, Luke."

"Yeah, yeah." He waited for Lorelai to grab her purse as he held the doorknob. She approached, and he pulled the door open for her then followed her out.

In the car, Luke drove slowly through the town, making sure not to break the low speed limits.

"Where does this guy live at anyway?" Lorelai asked.

"Edge of town. About as pastoral as you can get in this place."

"So, we're going to see a countryman. That's cool."

"He's not a countryman," Luke deadpanned.

"He's selling wood. That's what countrymen do. I'll bet he uses words like 'yonder' and 'tomater'."

He shook his head. "Whatever you say, Lorelai."

Lorelai relaxed in her seat and took a heavy breath. "I think you're so lucky, Luke. Anything you want, you can just…build it. I bet if you got tired of living in your apartment, you could just take Bert and go build a castle, couldn't you?"

"I think I'd need more help than _Bert_ could offer," he replied while shaking his head at the name Lorelai had given his toolbox.

"It must be awesome to be as talented as you are, though."

Luke leaned his left arm on the door and rubbed the side of his face. "I do okay," he commented in modesty.

"Where do you keep your spices now?"

He looked over at her. "In a cabinet. Why?"

She smiled. "So you were just cooking a pot of fancy schmancy _whatever_ one day and had to open a cabinet to get to the curry powder, and you thought 'man, it'd be great to have this just hanging right in front of me' and boom! The spice rack idea came to life. And that was probably this morning or early this afternoon or something crazy like that. Whatever you need, you can just build it. That's amazing."

"And untrue. You make it sound like I could've taken on the Arc with one hand tied behind my back."

"I wouldn't doubt it."

He smiled. "You sound fascinated."

"Tell me more! Tell me more!" she exclaimed in exaggeration.

"You're pretty talented yourself, you know. You buy clothes like it's going of style, but you could probably get on your sewing machine and make an entire wardrobe if you wanted to."

"Yeah, but then I'd have to find ways of snatching designer labels to sew on them." Luke smiled. "Can you go to jail for that?" she asked with curiosity.

"What, swiping and cutting out labels?" Lorelai nodded. Luke scoffed. "My guess is 'yeah'."

"They should sell them. Just the name brand part. You should be able to go to Macy's and buy a 5-pack of Vera Wang labels for twenty-five bucks." Concordance

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd love having her name sewn on a pair of discount wranglers."

Lorelai chuckled. "Yeah, that idea sort of bites, huh?"

"Little bit."

"I figured."

Luke looked over at her, and she brought her attention from the windshield to him, still with a smile. "What?" she asked.

"You're predictable, you know that?"

"This better be going somewhere good, BD."

Luke paused. "Butch…Danes?" he asked, unsure.

Lorelai clapped lightly. "Good job."

He nodded and switched hands on the wheel. He made himself more comfortable on the bench seat. "You never enjoy your compliments. You change focus. You always do that." He glanced at her, and she was focused on him. He turned back to the road. "I can do a lot of manual stuff. Tools, wood, nails--that's me. Not as much as _you_ say I can do," he said with his thumb gesturing at her, "but still, that's my area. You…you're good at all the other stuff." He smiled. "Less sweaty stuff," he added as he glanced at her again. Her lips had spread. "Making everything pretty--that's your expertise."

Luke brought his eyes to her again, and she was smiling even more.

"So, me Jane, you Tarzan?" she asked playfully.

He chuckled. "I wouldn't put it like that. You know what I mean. You do that…" He made a face, "…_delicate_ stuff."

Lorelai laughed.

He went on. "Imagine me sewing a dress," he said.

That image made her revisit laughter. "Imagine me banging a hammer," she countered.

He shrugged. "You can do anything you want to do. That's another admirable quality you have."

Lorelai stopped laughing and just smiled. "Are we having one of those touching, bring out the harp moments?"

"If I see a harp, I'm smashing it."

"_There's_ my Luke."

He smiled, shook his head. "You're stubborn, Lorelai. That's just a huge opening to determination and accomplishment. Anything you put your mind to, it's done. End of story."

"I think I'm gonna have to bring out the harp, Luke. You're asking for it."

"Okay, I'm done now."

Luke knew she was smiling like crazy. Lighting up the near dark sky with that breathtaking smile. He didn't have to look over to see that. A second later, he was feeling a gentle rub to his arm. He looked over at her then. And she was smiling. Just like he suspected. She took her hand away and turned back to the road. He did too.

A minute of silence passed. Lorelai was present, and there was still a whole minute of silence.

Luke looked over at her. Taking his hand from the wheel, he waved it in front of her face. "You awake over there?" he asked.

She looked at him with a smile. "Yes, Luke," she answered drolly. "I'm awake."

"Okay, just checking." He took a breath. "So, what are you thinking about so hard?"

"Just Lorelailand."

"Lorelai who?" he asked.

She smiled. "My basement. I haven't settled on a name for it yet."

"Why are you trying to find a name for your basement? It's a basement. Call it basement."

"Oh no, that's way too boring for what I have planned for Lorelaitopia."

"Thought it was Lorelailand."

"It didn't work out."

"Oh. So, what exactly do you have planned for…Lorelaitopia?" he asked, dully repeating her word.

She sighed. "I'm not sure yet. But I'm thinking big and flashy. Big and flashy suits Lorelaimania, doesn't it?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Guess Lorelaitopia got the boot too, huh?"

Lorelai frowned. "Yeah. It sounded too much like a fruit punch."

"Of course," he said amenably.

"So, what are your thoughts?"

"On what?"

"On Lorelai-island."

"I can't keep up with you."

"What do you think should be in it?" she asked.

"You're doing something to your basement?"

"Not just something, Luke. I'm giving it a name. A purpose. I'm finally going to put life into it."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yeah, I just have to figure out what to call it and what to do with it."

"What brought all of this on?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Nothing specific. Just that Rory left a couple months ago, and I've had a lot of time to think and wander. I've always wanted to do something with that area. I wanted it to be for Rory and me together, but she's already left, so I guess it can just be my project. My space. I can go there when I want to get away from--" She chuckled, "--I guess the upper part of my house."

He looked over at her. "You don't think that's a waste of time and money?"

"No, it's really not, Luke. It's gonna be great. You'll see."

He smiled at the look of resolve and happiness that sat on her face. "I'm sure it'll turn out great, Lorelai," he conceded.

She smiled wide. "First things first, what's the name of my paradise going to be?" She looked at Luke for an answer.

He glanced at her, feeling her eyes on him. He turned back to the road with a smirk. "Don't ask me."

"Hm," she said in thought. "Well, I don't know if Loreaivilla is going to hold up."

Luke rolled his eyes high. "You should probably just save the name for last. It could take a while."

"Good idea. Let's move on to attractions."

"Attractions?"

"Yeah. The stuff that's going to _attract_."

"Oh okay. Shoot."

Lorelai hit him on the arm. "God, Luke. What good are you? You're supposed to be giving me ideas here."

"Like you want ideas from me anyway. Dealing with me, you may end up with singing fish on the wall."

"You like those things?"

He shook his head, his eyes on the road. "That was supposed to be a joke."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "Well, what kind of stuff would you put in a basement if you were decorating one for yourself?"

He shrugged without even pretending to think. "I dunno."

"Well, you probably _would_ know if you actually gave it a second's worth of thought," she scolded in humor.

Luke sighed. Seconds fell away, and there was silence. Lorelai looked at him as he drove along. She waited for his answer.

"Are you thinking of something or are you just wasting precious talking time?" she asked pointedly.

He looked at her. "Do you have any idea how annoying you are?"

"I bet you _are_ wasting precious talking time, aren't you?" she accused in suspicion.

He rolled his eyes back to the road. "I don't think I'd do anything spectacular, really. Just a couch, a TV, maybe a mini-bar if I wanted to get really wild," he revealed sneeringly.

Lorelai snapped her fingers. "Ooh yeah," she said with approval. "A mini bar! That's what I'm talking about. What else you got?"

"I was kidding."

"Well, I wasn't. A mini-bar is perfect. No kids in the house, may as well get drunk and fall out on the couch--another idea of yours. You rock. Think of more."

Luke shook his head. He decided to go for broke. "What about a dart board!" he said excitedly. "And some low, red lights. Maybe a bearskin rug by a fireplace. A huge heart-shaped bed would really bring the room to life. Sounds good, doesn't it?"

Lorelai looked at him without expression. "Luke, are you trying to turn my space into a freaky, sex room?" she asked plainly.

He rolled his eyes. "No," he answered gruffly. "Just trying to make sure you have limitations."

"Of course I have limitations," Lorelai said casually. "I just want a room to have fun in. Relax in. No heart shaped beds or kinky lights."

"Well, in that case, just keep it simple. If it were me, I'd do a sofa—like I said—definitely a TV, uh a system—just something with good sound quality, nothing over the top, and probably…" He smiled, "Yeah, I'd have a dart board. It's good at relieving tension. Whenever I get to play somewhere, I always imagine it's somebody head. It helps."

Lorelai was listening to him closely, looking at his profile. "Wow, Luke. Such violence."

He shrugged. "It helps," he repeated. "It's better than putting someone's head through a wall, right?"

"I'm guessing you're not factoring in entertainment, huh?"

"No," he answered flatly.

She smiled. "Okay. Then, yeah, it's way better than making someone's head stick out the wall like a deer head." She grimaced. "Speaking of deer heads, you'd never want one of those on your basement wall, would you?"

"Why would I want a deer head? I've never hunted before in my life."

"Well, you're outdoorsy. It's all one in the same."

"To who?"

"To the indoorsy."

"In other words, _you_?"

"Yup."

"How'd I ever guess?"

Lorelai grinned.

Luke pulled into a long driveway, put the truck in Park, and stepped outside. A tall, skinny, bearded man stood in the yard working. Luke approached him and they went over to a stack of wood. They spoke and money exchanged hands, and ten minutes later—when the wood was loaded in the back of Luke's truck, he climbed back inside where Lorelai was still seated.

"Well, that took forever," she calmly stated. Luke regarded her, and she laughed. "I know, I know. No one told me to come blah blah blah. Save your breath."

Luke got himself situated and pulled out of the driveway and back onto the road.

He took a loud, deep breath. "So, who are you going to get to do this grand renovation to your basement?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know. I have to stay within a budget, you know? Maybe Tom will cut me a deal since he's already finagling my money away from me for the Dragonfly," she ended teasingly.

"Why are you doing this when you already have so much going on? You already have a lot of money being spent."

"Yeah, I know. But it shouldn't be too bad. Two or three thousand." She shrugged.

Luke looked over at her. He didn't say anything for moment. "And what will that go toward?" he asked.

"The _stuff_. All of the attractions," she answered, motioning her hands around the inside of the truck. "Plumbing needs to be checked down there. That's where Tom comes in. I may have to hold off on getting some things, though," she added thoughtfully.

"Lorelai, if you wanted to turn your basement into a rec room, you'd probably need to get some stuff up to code. When was the last time you were down there?"

"Last week."

"And what'd you see?"

She paused. "A spider web at the top of the stairs, so I left."

Luke shook his head. "You didn't factor in the cost of basement repairs, did you?" he asked considerately.

She scoffed. "What kind of repairs could it need? It's been fine all these years!"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, it's been fine for a _basement_. Somewhere where you go to check breakers or to throw an old armoire that doesn't fit the new décor. If you want to turn it into a living space, you'll need to make some changes. They may be minor, may be major. Who knows. Personally, I haven't been down there in about two years, and from what I can remember--"

"Okay, Luke. I get the point."

He looked over at her. "Sorry."

She sighed. "Sorry for what?"

"I didn't mean to frustrate you. Don't get discouraged."

She stared out the windshield in thought for several seconds. "How could I not? I didn't think of any of that stuff." She turned her head to Luke. "How much more would you think it'd be?"

"I don't know."

"Well…just guess. Give me a ballpark."

"Lorelai, I really don't know. Like I said, I haven't been down there in a while. I don't know what needs to be done. Besides, I'm not a contractor."

"I know. You're better than a contractor. You're Luke."

He smirked and tossed her a glance. "You have _way_ too much faith in me," he remarked.

She folded her arms. "This really puts a damper on things, doesn't it?" she said, sounding much more calm than she felt. "Who knows when I'll have the money for this."

Luke turned and regarded her momentarily. "You know I could help you out, Lorelai."

She didn't look at him. "Thanks, Luke. But that's okay."

"Why? I don't mind."

She looked at him, her arms still folded. "Luke, I honestly don't know where I would be right now if you hadn't stepped in over the years and repaired things in the crapshack. You're a godsend to me," she said with sincerity. "But this project isn't obligatory. It's not my roof leaking or my faucet falling off. It's a _project_. Something un-needed and unimportant. I'm not going to ask for your help with this."

"What if it takes two years? What if you have to wait for the inn to turn profit before you can get it started?"

Lorelai actually saddened at the possibility. "Then that'll suck. But I'll live with that. I hope it doesn't take that long, though."

Luke looked over then rolled his eyes back to the road. "It's important," he stated.

"What?"

"This thing. This basement thing. It's important. If it's important to you, then it's important."

Lorelai smiled a bit. "Trying to cheer me up?"

"Is it working?"

She reached over and squeezed his arm. Luke could really touch her with the things he said and did at times. "You're an undercover teddy bear, you know that?"

He shook his head. Lorelai and Rory were the only people on the face of the planet who could get away with saying something like that. "Secret's safe with you?" he asked in jest.

"I haven't said anything in all these years."

He smiled.

"But seriously, Luke, don't even worry about it. In a month, I'll probably have forgotten all about it again." She tried hard to appear unaffected by it all.

"Yeah, that's true," he agreed.

"So, don't sweat it," she said, relaxing in her seat. They both quieted for a moment. "Hey," Lorelai said, getting his attention, "I am sorry I couldn't give you your dart board, though."

"_My_ dart board?" he asked.

She smiled. "Mmhm. You know you could have come anytime to Lorelaimagickingdom."

He laughed. "You don't say."

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully. "I would have made everything to your liking too. Nothing too girly."

"You wouldn't have had to do that. That's your thing, not mine."

She shrugged. "Well, originally, it was supposed to be me and Rory's thing. But she's off getting Ivy League educated, and you dear sir, are the next best thing."

"Really?" he asked with a small amount of surprise.

Lorelai's attention was on the windshield. "Yep," she answered shortly.

"I'm sure Sookie would love to hear that," he replied in sarcasm.

Lorelai smiled a little. "Don't worry. I say the same thing to her when you're not around." She looked at him and caught his eye. Her smile widened.

Luke turned back to the road. "Well," he said on a breath. "Maybe one day your basement dreams will happen."

Lorelai was silent for many seconds. "Yeah, one day," she said quietly.

Her tone caught Luke's attention. That sadness had resurfaced. Instantly, he knew what would turn it around. He sighed and spoke like he was thinking out loud. "Jeez. All that wood. Gotta find something to do with it," he commented.

Lorelai giggled.

Luke smiled and shook his head.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

With the Dragonfly remodel in full swing, Lorelai's time was mostly spent on the inn's property.

Her days typically came to an end no sooner than 5 o'clock.

The day after she accompanied Luke to get his wood, she made it home at 4. What she saw when she pulled into her driveway made her eyebrows furrow. Luke's truck was backed up to her porch, and he was on the side of the truck pushing boxes around.

He looked over and saw her stepping from her jeep.

"Hey," he said in greeting. "You're back early."

Lorelai walked over to him, her confusion so clear. "Luke, what are you doing?"

She noticed her front door wide open and boxes all in the foyer as well as on the porch.

Luke looked to where she was looking. "Sorry about this mess. Thought I'd have it cleaned before you got here. I hope you don't mind, I got your spare key from that stupid, fake turtle that looks exactly like it would have a key in it."

"No, I don't mind. It'd be nice to know what you're doing, though," she said as she moved over to his truck and started peering into some of the boxes. It occurred to her where all the boxes came from at the very moment that he said it.

"I'm cleaning out your basement." He started moving more boxes over. "You have a lot of stuff down there too," he complained. "Didn't know you were such a hoarder."

She looked at him sideways. "What'd you call me?"

He rolled his eyes at her emerging smile. "A pack-rat," he rephrased.

Lorelai pointed toward the whole huge mess. "Why are you cleaning out my basement? What's all this about?"

"Gotta make room."

Her eyes moved to him. She stared momentarily in thought before speaking. "Make…room for what?" She asked the question slowly as realization had already set in.

"For Lorelai…_dise_."

She frowned. "Lorelaidise?" she questioned.

"Lorelai and paradise combined. You don't like it?"

"Uh no."

He rolled his eyes. "Like your ideas were so much better," he mumbled dolefully.

Lorelai smiled. She watched Luke climb the stairs, grab another box, then walk back down again. "Luke, I thought I told you _no_. I thought I told you I didn't want your help with this."

"You did."

"So, _no_ to you means what exactly?"

"I hate to burst your illusory bubble here, Lorelai, but this isn't for you."

Lorelai smirked. She watched him climb _her_ stairs to get inside of _her_ house to collect more of _her_ boxes. "Then, who's it for?" she asked jeeringly.

"It's for me," he stated doggedly.

She chuckled. "Really?"

He stopped and looked at her with a serious quality. "Yes," he answered. "I want my dart board, damn it," he added as he began movement again.

Lorelai followed him with her eyes. With bare movement, she nodded--_of course_ not believing him for one second. Luke threw a box into the truck and released a breath. "I suggest you start deciding what you want to fill that space down there. It'll be time to furnish and decorate in no time," he said.

Lorelai placed her hands on the edge of the truck bed and looked at him. "You have an estimate?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"How much will it cost to fix up?"

"Nothing."

Her forehead crinkled. "Nothing?"

"For you, nothing."

She tilted her head. "Luke," she said quietly.

"Don't look at me like that," he said blowing off her soft regard. "I'm doing the work, so it's okay. I've got it covered."

She shook her head. "I really don't know when I'd be able to pay you back because it's going to be--"

"Lorelai," he interrupted with annoyance. She closed her mouth. "You're not paying me back for anything, okay? We're friends. Good friends. I hear this is the kind of crap you do for friends if you're able to. Am I wrong?"

Lorelai sighed. She dropped her chin to her chest as she went over things in her own head. Finally looking at Luke, she answered the question that didn't need any thought at all. "No, Luke," she began, "You're not wrong."

"Good. Then, let me be a friend without interference," he responded moodily.

She smiled a little. Shook her head. "This is a lot…that you're doing, Luke."

He shrugged.

"And I thank you a lot," she added.

"Thanks," he replied ineffectually. "Or…uh you're welcome, I mean."

She backed away from the truck, still looking at him. "You can come by anytime you want too. That was going to be the case before you did all this, but now…it's like quadrupled."

He smiled and got back to work arranging boxes. "I appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary."

"Still, the offer's _all_ _over_ the table. First twofer's on me."

"What?"

"Suitcase. Beer. I'm Canada-bound, baby. It's tuque heaven. It's where lovers of the tuque unite and sing in praise."

He gave her a nod. "Well, keep your tuque and share the beer. You've got yourself a date," he said without delay.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Luke!"

"Down here!" came Luke's voice.

Lorelai dropped her things on the sofa in her living room and made her way to the door leading to the basement. There was banging that was so loud. She put her hands to her ears and stood at the top of the stairs. She saw Luke and three other guys down below. Luke turned and headed up to meet her.

They both exited the basement and shut the door to close off some of the noise.

"Hey," Luke said with energy. He wiped his forehead where sweat had formed. "How was work?"

Lorelai smiled. "Exhausting," she answered. She stood in front of him, and she extended her hand to his plain T-shirt. She just splayed her fingers on his chest. "You're wet."

He looked down at her hand. "Yeah. It's hot down there. Sorry."

She chuckled. "You're apologizing for sweating?"

He smiled. "Move your hand. You don't have to get it all over yourself."

She laid her hand on him fully and rubbed his shirt…his chest by happenstance. "You think I'm scared of your sweat, Luke?"

"I'd think you'd be a little grossed out, but…" He looked into her face, and she looked back at him, her hand still in place. "…I guess not," he finished plainly.

Lorelai flashed him a smile and turned. She moved toward the kitchen, beckoning Luke to follow.

"So, I see you got yourself some help," she said over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Few guys just to help with the carpet."

"Ooh carpet. Fancy!" she marveled. She reached in the refrigerator and pulled out bottled water. She passed it to Luke, then asked, "What do you think the other guys want? I have blue and red Gatorade too."

Luke twisted the cap on his water and drank a good bit. "They're okay. They brought a cooler of water with them."

Lorelai stuck her lip out. "Well, what can _I_ give them?" Her eyebrows lifted in excitement as she thought of something. "You think they want some pop-tarts?"

Luke chuckled and took a seat at the table. "No, they're fine, Lorelai. Thanks."

She sank down in a chair as well. "Oh alright," she submitted.

He drank more water then set his bottle down. "The pipes down there needed some work. I've taken care of that, so when I get to the hardware store tomorrow, I'll pick up some new tile for the half bath. All white, right?" he checked.

Lorelai's lips curled the tiniest bit. "Yeah."

He went on. "It wasn't as bad as I thought considering it hasn't been used in more than a decade. Just needs a little TLC. We're going to finish laying down the carpet this afternoon, then I'll start work on that bar. I found some really nice blueprints, so I can build that, no problem. I figured you could set it up in the far left corner," he said using his hands to demonstrate position. "But it's up to you. Just let me know what you want to do. And tomorrow I have an HVAC guy coming out. An electrician too. I don't want to mess with that or I might blow your whole house up."

He stopped and took a longer sip of his water.

Lorelai just looked at him. Had him lifting his eyebrow in question.

"What?"

She shook her head, turning away. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

She gave him a smile. "You."

"Me?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just…you."

"Okay…"

Her smile became brighter. "You know, Luke, I can totally imagine you married."

He frowned hard. "Excuse me?"

"Married," she repeated. "Locked down. Shackled."

"I know what married is, Lorelai."

"Well, you asked the question, not me."

"What made you think of marriage? What makes you think I want to get married?"

She shrugged. "I don't know if you want to. I just said that I can see you married. You're a provider. And you do such a great job at it too. You're a good man," she said simply.

He paused. He still thought the topic was off, and he definitely wanted to make it known that marriage was not on his mind at all. But Lorelai's words were so open and genuine that he had no choice but to take it deeper and appreciate her meaning and her willingness to share that particular thought.

"Thanks," he said quietly. He looked down and ran his thumb along the edge of the table. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Why from me?" she asked.

He frowned, obviously having had no intentions of being questioned. "I don't know. Your opinion…means something to me…I suppose," he said, trying to find the right words without sounding like a greeting card.

Lorelai smiled at his timidity. She leaned toward him and spoke quieter. "Well, I have a really good one of you. I think you're such an awesome guy, Luke. When that marriage-material lady comes along and steals you away from this moocher of a friend, it's really going to suck for me. And my inability to mooch will be low on the list of reasons why."

His eyes stayed low. When Lorelai finished speaking, he looked at her. "Is this a test?" She looked confused, so he clarified. "If you think I'm going to cue an orchestra then you're sadly mistaken. I don't do sap."

She laughed.

He dropped his eyes back down, honestly touched by what she'd said.

He cleared his throat. "So, are you finished at the inn? Are you home for tonight?"

Lorelai sat back up and crossed her legs comfortably. "I am."

He nodded, looked at her. "Good. You want to go out to the garage with me? While I work on the mini-bar?"

She smiled a little. "Why?"

His eyes narrowed. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just asking," he said defensively.

She chuckled. "Why won't you just say 'to keep me company'? Or whatever the reason is that you extended the invitation."

"Because I don't _need_ company. I'm just trying to save you from a night of drilling noises while you're watching TV."

"You're so difficult, Luke."

He shrugged. "Well, I'm too stuck in my ways to change now. So, what do you say?"

She shook her head at him, giving up on further argument. With a smile, she told him, "Count me in."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai walked down the basement stairs ahead of Luke.

"Be careful," she pleaded.

"We are," Luke responded as he descended the stairs backwards. He held the end of one-half the two-part mini-bar. Morey held the other end.

"_Carefuuul_," Lorelai slowly warned as she watched Luke's foot movement down the staircase. He made it to the bottom and a second later, so did Morey. "Gosh, you boys are strong," Lorelai praised. She pointed them over to the corner which was ready and waiting for the solution to its barrenness. "No, no, the other way," she instructed before they could set it down fully. "Just a bit more to the left. The _other_ left, Luke." She smiled in satisfaction, watching the beautifully made wooden bar with wide eyes. "That's perfect. Set it down there, please."

Both men lowered their sides down.

Lorelai clapped. "It's so pretty!" She waved them away. "Now, go get the other side. Hurry, hurry."

Luke and Morey shared a look of tediousness before they followed Lorelai's overexcited orders. A short while later, they were repeating the same process with the second half. Once again, Lorelai applauded. She stared in awe at the polished wood finish. A full bar. It put her rich parents' rinky dink alcohol cart to shame!

Turning away, she took in the new space of the basement. The soft, beige carpet felt wonderful under her bare feet. She walked the length of the basement. The half bath was complete. Luke had even taken care to put in three vanity-style bulbs over the small mirror in the place of the single, covered 60 watt that hung from the ceiling. The ceramic toilet and the sink shined new, and the tile looked professionally done. She thought the big tiles were a bit much for the small bathroom space, but it looked good, nonetheless.

Everything looked new. Standing in the space, Lorelai even noticed that air seemed even more centralized than upstairs!

"Okay, that's it. I'm moving downstairs. Screw the rest of the house!" she said to Luke. He smiled. Morey did the same.

"So you like it?"

"It's just what I pictured, Luke," she answered in gratitude.

He sighed with relief. "Good. Now all we have to do is--"

"--get it furnished! Yaaay, the fun part!"

Luke shook his head and turned to Morey. "Thanks for the help, Morey," he said.

Morey nodded, his ever-present dark shades making it hard for anyone to really look him in the face. "No problem, Luke. Call if you need anything else," he relayed in his mellow tone. He waved to Lorelai, and she giddily returned it, still feeling excitement all over.

Alone, Lorelai and Luke looked at one another.

Luke gave her a playful look of question. "You _sure_ you like it?" he asked.

Her grin made him laugh.

Lorelai jumped in thought. "Wait right here, okay? I'll be right back." She zoomed past him and ran up the stairs faster than Luke had ever seen her move.

Luke breathed deep and took in the room. He smiled. Three weeks worth of work. Lots of time away from the diner. It had turned out better than he had hoped, and Lorelai was so happy.

All was well.

Hearing Lorelai's hurried footsteps on the stairs, Luke turned to face her. She wore a smile. And she held a gift-wrapped present behind her back that was way too big to hide.

Luke smiled. "What's that?"

She approached him. "What's what?" she asked, her smile still great.

She made it to him, and he reached a finger out and tapped the box that her small frame hid only half of. "That," he said. He smiled more. "That huge box big enough for a dart board."

Her head went to the side and she looked at him with disapproval. He laughed.

"Sorry, did I ruin the surprise?"

Her lip went out, and she passed him the luridly wrapped gift. "Yes, present pooper," she pouted. "You did."

He took it from her and walked over to the bar where he started to unwrap it. Lorelai followed him over. "Let's see what we have here," he gaily announced. Lorelai's attention went from him down to the still-wrapped present and back again, still anxious for his reaction.

When the large board was finally unveiled, Luke held the box up in both hands. "Wow," he said quietly as he looked over the colorful picture on the front.

Lorelai lightly tugged on his shirt from beside him. She appeared so nervous. "Do you like it?"

He still scanned the front. "Yeah," he answered distractedly.

Lorelai bit her lip, not sure what to make of his reaction. "This was the best one that I could find. It's really cool, too. It's the nicest one that you can get outside of getting one of those electronic doo-hickeys. I would have gotten you one of those, but I know you, and I know that that would have been--" She caught his slight frown and fast head shake and she smiled. "See. So, I got this one." She pointed to the board. "It has the cabinet thing, so I guess…it has a home to go to at night, and it comes with all the little thrower things--"

"Darts," he corrected flatly. He set the board down.

"Yeah," she agreed. "That's what I meant. Darts. It has a lot of those things, and you can even take it ou--"

"Lorelai," he interrupted calmly.

She took a breath and looked up at him. Her nervousness made her so damn adorable in his eyes. She really was going crazy thinking he didn't prefer the game she got.

Luke smiled fully. "I love it," he revealed.

Her voice was quiet. "Really?"

He leaned in some. "Really," he assured low. He backed up and spoke normally. "It's actually the one I had my eye on." He said it so casually that Lorelai thought he was kidding.

"Are you serious?" she asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I am," he said again in that same tone of nonchalance.

"Luke," she complained.

"Lorelai," he said, voice raised slightly. He smiled. "I'm serious. I swear I'm serious. You got the exact board that I wanted." He ran his hand over the front of it, then regarded her. "It was a little _high_ for my taste…" Lorelai smiled, still with leftover uneasiness. "…but I definitely wanted it."

"So…I did good?" she asked cautiously.

He chuckled. She was beyond sweet. "You did great," he said coolly. He tugged on her arm. "Come 'ere." Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and finally smiled freely as she went into his embrace. Luke's arms went over both of hers and he made a playful sound, hugging her like a big brother.

Lorelai buried herself in his body, smiling widely with his arms wrapped all the way around her.

"Thanks for thinking of me," Luke said.

"I have a much bigger reason to thank you," she responded with calm. She lifted her head. "And I always think about you, Diner Man. You have the coffee." Her fingers went to his cheek, and she rubbed over his course hairs like she was just curious to know its texture. She smiled. "Such a man."

She moved to her toes and kissed his chin. Her eyes were closed. In the next second, she took both her lips to his and kissed him softly. She pulled away to find that Luke's eyes had closed too. She waited until he opened them, then she smiled at him. "Come on. Let's go buy a sixty inch. My first contribution to our space."

She put her hand inside his and started walking to the stairs. Luke followed, dazed.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Too big."

"It's so perfect."

"It's _too big_," Luke stressed.

"It's perfect, Luke!"

"What do you need with a television that big, Lorelai?"

Lorelai went over and wrapped her arms as far around the seventy-two inch television as she could get. "Oohh, it loves me, Luke. It's vibrating under my embrace." Luke's eyes dropped to the wide screen and he rolled his eyes away at the sight of the speedway cars racing around the track. "Do you hear it, Luke? Do you hear the vibrations?" she asked, closing her eyes and smiling endearingly.

"It's a Nascar race," he said in monotone. "You hear engines. Those engines are vibrating the TV because it's _too damn big_," he repeated.

"He's just jealous of what we share," Lorelai whispered to the television. She kissed it in apology and laid her head back on it.

Luke walked over to where Lorelai was laying on the TV like a nut. There was a tag under where her hand was wrapped. He picked it up and read it briefly then peered at Lorelai who appeared to be having Panasonic dreams. He still held the tag.

"Twenty-nine ninety-five."

"Hm?" Lorelai asked sounding relaxed.

"The price of this big, space-hogging, steroid-filled TV is _two thousand, nine-hundred, and ninety-five dollars_."

Lorelai hopped up like she had just been burned. Her mouth opened in horror as she looked at the large screen in front of her.

"Say it isn't true, Roy!"

Luke rolled his eyes once again. "At least wait until you own something before you start naming it, Lorelai."

Lorelai sighed with defeat. "Let's move on to something else."

"My thoughts exactly."

- OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke came down the basement stairs.

He found Lorelai squishing around on the new sofa trying to find her area of comfort. She had purchased a sleeper sofa, one with a fold-out bed. But the squishing was taking place on the regularly seated area.

"How's it working out?" he asked of the sofa. He moved over to the bar and placed the 12-pack of water and 6-pack of juice that he held on top of it.

"I can't find it!" she complained.

"Can't find what?"

"My spot. In the store, I had it. It was…" She moved and squirmed, "…right around here somewhere, but now it's gone!"

Luke opened the door to the knee-high fridge by the bar. He pushed some fig cookies and Oreos aside and started lining up drinks one-by-one. "Well, I'm sure it's there somewhere," he appeased.

He heard a loud slap and didn't bother looking up. He figured Lorelai had begun to assault the poor couch. He was right.

"I hate this stupid thing! I don't want it anymore. I want to take it back and get something else."

Luke's tone didn't alter. His focus remained on strategically placing items inside of the small cooler. "You want to take it back because you don't think it's comfortable?"

"No. It's comfortable enough, I guess. I want to take it back because I can't find _my_ version of comfortable."

"Oh. Okay, that's much better."

"Stop being sarcastic, Lucas."

"Stop calling me Lucas, Victoria."

"I don't mind being called Victoria. Even though it's a little weird because no one ever calls me that," she said quickly. "But still, I love all parts of my name."

"Me too."

"Well, what's the beef with Lucas?"

"That's not a part of my name."

"Your real name isn't Lucas?"

"No."

"You're lying."

"You don't think I know my own name?"

"Well, I thought you did, but now I'm not so sure."

He stood up and tossed the empty water bottle wrapping off to the side. He cracked open the juice package. "You want to see my birth certificate?" he asked, bending back down.

"Yes," she answered.

"Too bad. I burned it."

She smiled. "And you did that so that when you tell lies about your name not being Lucas, people would be forced to believe you. Ha! I'm so talented."

He smiled. "Damn you Gilmore. I'll get you next time," he jokingly declared.

She giggled. "The basement brings out Luke's funny."

"That. It. Does," he drug out, preoccupied.

"Is everything fitting inside of the cute little refrigerator?"

"What makes this thing cute?"

"Its size. Little things are cute."

He rolled his eyes. "And big things are…?"

She smiled. "Rewind that back in your head, think it over, then if you really want Lorelai's patented response to that, then present it once more."

"Never mind."

"Don't expect that courtesy again."

"Thanks for the freebie."

"You're welcome, Lukey Pookey."

He shook his head. "And to answer your question, everything is fitting okay."

"Is there room for my ice cream?"

"Ice cream can't go in here, Lorelai."

"It has a little freezer!" she argued.

"Yes it does, but the big gallon sized container that you have upstairs that I'm _positive_ you're referring to isn't going to go in here."

"Oh crud."

"Oh crud indeed."

"No ice cream for Lorelai," she lamented.

"Lorelai can walk upstairs and have all the ice cream she wants," Luke said dully.

"Or _Luke_ can walk upstairs and get Lorelai all the ice cream she wants."

"Think again."

"Thought again. And guess what..double whammy."

"Then leave all the thinking to me."

"Luke, you are not respecting my _authori—TYE_."

"What?"

"South Park. Surely you've heard of South Park."

"I don't think so."

She smiled and held up a finger. "Wait, wait." She cleared her throat, getting her voice just right. "_You killed Kenny! You bastaaaaards_!" She laughed at her own impression then looked back to Luke. He was balling up his trash while looking at her blankly. Her laughter stopped and she looked away. "You really do live under a rock, don't you?"

"Guess I do."

Lorelai looked at the black screen of the new, _on sale_, 60 inch television. "How much more do you have to do, Luke?"

"You mean, how much more do _we_ have to do? You're not going to sit on your butt and make me do everything."

She rolled her eyes. "How much more do _weeeeeeeee_ have to do, Luke?"

He went near the stairs and stuffed trash inside of a large store bag. "Some hanging. Some clearing. Some setting up this damn game table you bought. Why?"

"I'm just ready to see everything finished and pretty."

Her giddy tone made Luke smile. "Well, the sooner you help, the sooner it'll get finished," he cajoled.

She sighed. "Oh okaaay," she conceded, sounding depleted and sad. She moved her bottom on the couch in order to stand, and as soon as she did, she gasped loudly. "Luke, Luke, Luke!" she called quickly. He rushed around the sofa at her urgency.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked in panic. He put his hand on her arm as if to lift her since she seemed frozen.

Her hand went out to stop him, and she met his eyes. A slow smile formed. Her eyes were wide. "I found it," she whispered.

"Found what?" he asked worriedly.

"Shh! You're going to scare it away," she whispered again.

He didn't change his register. If anything, it got louder. "What are you talking about? Scare what away?" he asked, now sounding impatient.

Her smile went so wide. "My spot."

Luke's hands fell to his thighs, and he stared at Lorelai like she had lost every last shred of her mind. All of that because she had found her comfortable spot on the couch. "You've got to be kidding me right now," he said in monotone.

She paid him no attention. "Ooohhh," she relished. "This is amazingly fantastic!" she said quietly, now appearing and sounding intoxicated with sensation.

Luke rolled his eyes and walked away. "You bother me, you know that? You bother me and annoy me and make me want to call the men with butterfly nets," he complained.

Lorelai sank back. "Mmmm." She smiled lazily. "It's so hard to care right now, Luke. Just write down everything you want to say and I'll deal with it in fif--"

"I don't listen to _lazy_ people!"

She smiled wider and closed her eyes.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke drank the last of the water from his bottle.

He leaned down and placed the empty bottle on the floor next to his foot at the very moment that Lorelai emerged from the half bath. She was rubbing balm on her lips.

"Gotta date?" Luke asked blandly as his attention went back to the big screen tuned to the news.

Lorelai walked over and stood in front of the television, blocking his view. "No," she answered. "This makes my lips all shiny and kissable. At least that's what it says on the little case." She brought it up to her eyes and looked for only a second before attention was going back to Luke. "What do you think?" She puckered her lips flirtatiously.

Luke stared at her saying nothing and showing no emotion.

It had been a long day. One that had started hours and hours ago in the early morning. They'd both taken the day off from respective job duties to spend the day gathering items for the basement. That day had started with Luke and Morey moving the finished bar in place. Just minutes after that, Lorelai had leaned into Luke and kissed him on his lips. She had never done that. _Never ever_.

And on this day, she had kissed him like it was just something they did.

She said nothing about it. He said nothing about it. Their day had carried on, and they moved from store to store, spending money like crazy, and bickering, arguing, and joking like nothing had even happened.

Now, she was standing in front of him asking him if he thought her lips looked kissable.

She grew tired of the playful puckers in the time that Luke just sat there saying nothing and staring. She stopped and looked at him. He at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she finally asked.

"Like what?"

"Like you hate my guts or something," she answered lightly.

She moved closer to him but remained in front of the TV.

His eyes refocused on her from her new position. "That's not how I was looking at you."

"It was damn close." She tapped his boot with her bare foot. "Are you mad at me?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

She kept bumping his foot with hers. "Are you positive?"

"Stop doing that," he said, smiling a bit. Seeing that made her smile. She stopped hitting his foot.

"Why do you still have shoes on? You have to get comfortable, Danes."

"I am comfortable."

"You can't be comfortable with shoes on." She bent down in front of him. Luke's eyes followed hers, and he stared at her, now, between his legs. Her eyes were on his as she undid his laces. She chuckled. "You have _got_ to stop looking at me like that."

"How am I looking at you?" he asked confusedly.

She shrugged and looked down at his foot briefly. "Weird. Do you think I'm going to hurt you?"

"That's crazy. And why am I sitting here letting you take off my shoe?" he asked, suddenly realizing that was just what he was doing. She pulled his shoe off with laughter.

"You're under my spell."

He smiled and leaned down in front of her, shooing her hand away. Lorelai watched him take off his other shoe, then she looked up at him as he placed both sock-covered feet on the floor.

"Carpet feels good, doesn't it?"

He moved his toes. "Yeah, it's nice."

"I know. This is your doing, Angel."

He smiled instantly. "All for you, Junkie."

She laughed then hit his leg. "Your name sounds more endearing than mine."

He shrugged. "Don't worry, it's endearing to me."

She smiled. "Awww."

"Jeez, don't start with that, Lorelai," he said with genuine dislike of the gushy moments.

"Okay, okay," she placated. "Not starting." She stood up and looked around. "This turned out great, Luke. All of it. Are _you_ happy with it?"

He looked around from his comfortable seat on the couch. "I'm happy," he answered plainly.

She held out her hand to him, and he looked at it. She cocked her head. "Distrust rears its ugly head," she lamented. "What'd I ever do to you?" she asked sadly. He rolled his eyes and put his hand in hers. She smiled and pulled. "Come on, let's go play air hockey. Break in the table the right way." The table sat behind the couch, several feet from the mini-bar.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Luke asked cockily.

She laughed. "That sounded so wrong."

"Everything sounds wrong to you." He still hadn't budged, but she was just pulling away. "Come here, let me show you something." She stopped pulling and sat down next to him.

Her eyes went to the side of his face, and her fingers went there next. Like earlier, she started feeling the hairs on his face. Luke stayed face-forward. "Okay, what did you want to show me?" she asked.

Luke picked up a remote and looked for the right button as Lorelai continued her soft rubbing.

"Are you fascinated with my facial hair?" he asked like he wasn't being affected in the least.

She smiled. "Little bit, yeah."

He smiled, amused. "Oh. Then carry on, I guess."

"I plan to."

Luke looked upward and Lorelai followed his eyes. She noticed speakers. He mumbled in confusion as he returned focus back to the remote. He cursed, hit a random button, then sound was filling the entire room. Excellent sound. Sounded like it was coming from every nick and cranny.

Jewel's voice rang out, and Lorelai didn't seem to even care about the music choice.

She stood up, mouth open, forgetting about Luke's impromptu facial massage.

"When did you do this?" she asked looking around at all of the hanging speakers.

Luke shrugged and stood too. "I dunno, like a week ago. Surprised you didn't notice it."

Lorelai seemed stunned. "Luke, this had to cost a fortune!"

"It really wasn't that bad."

She shook her head. "I'm paying you back for this," she insisted. "I _have_ to pay you back for this."

He handed her the remote and moved around the couch with a sigh. "You're not paying me back for anything," he said like it wasn't even worth discussing. He made it to the air hockey table and he leaned down and took the puck from the pocket. "Feel free to change that station, though," he said as he dropped the plastic puck to the table.

Lorelai finally closed her mouth which was still hanging open and turned to Luke.

"Come on so I can beat you and still catch the game in twenty minutes," he said, already in position. Lorelai turned off the system, making it look much more simple than Luke had made it look. She rounded the couch and went to her end of the table.

"You are so not watching a game tonight," she refuted.

Luke hit the puck hard in her direction as soon as she was ready. "Yes, I am."

Lorelai blocked the shot and sent it sailing back. "No, you're not."

"I'll play you for it." He hit the puck down to her end, and Lorelai hit it against the table and straight into his slot. Luke looked up at her in shock.

She smirked and pretended to roll her sleeves. "Game on."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"How did I get rooked into doing this?"

Lorelai spun the black arrow. "It's first night, Luke. You realize the importance of breaking everything in."

He rolled his eyes. He was so annoyed. "What'd it land on?" he barked.

"Uuuh, left foot green."

"_What_?!"

"Left foot--"

"I heard you!" He looked down below himself. "There's no way my foot's going to make it all the way over there, Lorelai!" he exclaimed.

"Well, don't yell at me. I didn't _purposefully_ choose it!"

"What the hell do you see that's funny?" he yelled. She was laughing so hard it was a wonder she was still in position, raised up under Luke like a crooked bridge. "Stop laughing before you fall then make me fall."

He slowly lifted his foot from the blue circle. "This is _ridiculous_," he mumbled harshly. And again, Lorelai was snickering, trying to keep it low. "I guess causing somebody to twist up like a pretzel is supposed to be fun, huh?" He continued trying to reach with his foot. "Got me on the floor bending like a damn teenage gymnast," he complained.

Lorelai only nodded as laughter kept her from having a voice.

Luke got his foot to go on green with some effort. "Hurry up and spin. I don't know how long I'm gonna be able to hold this!"

Tears fell from Lorelai's eyes onto the Twister mat. She closed them and got control of her laughter. "Luke…" she began, still finding that she was unable to speak clearly.

Luke's leg started shaking. "Lorelai, hurry up!" he exclaimed. "I'm breaking down over here, dammit!"

Lorelai dropped to the floor and curled her body up in laughter. Luke only looked at her. With caution, he lifted himself from the floor and bent backward to pop his back. "Uunnhh, god!" He stepped over her. "I'll be over here on the couch when you're finished," he said while clutching his back.

Lorelai continued to roll around.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai sat down on the floor beside Luke's feet. He was on the sofa.

She waved the bottle opener over her head at him. "Do you need this?" she asked.

"No thanks."

She nodded and set it down beside her. She and Luke brought their respective beer bottles to their lips.

He tapped her side with his foot and she looked back at him. With a smile, he shook his head and took his eyes to the television beyond her.

Luke had built a small table at Lorelai's request. It set in front of the couch. Lorelai set her bottle on it then hopped up and sat down beside Luke on the couch. She leaned onto him, watching him sip from his bottle.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked.

He looked over at her. "I don't need help with anything."

"You kicked me."

"Tapped. I tapped you."

"Okay, tapped. Why'd you tap?"

"No reason."

"No reason?"

"No reason," he repeated.

"Okay," she conceded in thought.

She still watched him. He drank a long sip then brought his bottle down to his lap. He could feel her gaze, which was understandable since she was so close to his face. He swallowed his beer.

"Besides…" he began after a brief silence, "…if _you_ can…" He looked at her, and she was focused on him, waiting for him to finish his thought. There was silence. "Never mind," he relented, looking away.

Lorelai's eyes scanned his face. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing."

"If I can what?" she pushed.

He sighed and turned his head to look at her. Her eyes looked into his, waiting.

She sat up to see his face more. "If I can what, Luke?" she asked again.

He sighed like he was getting aggravated. Then he leaned over and kissed her lips. It was soft and brief. "…do that," he finally finished. "If you can do that…then I can tap."

Her eyes had closed for that half second. She now looked at him.

Luke's eyes fell to his lap.

Ten of the longest seconds ever ticked off.

A soft exhale from Lorelai caught Luke's attention, and he looked over to see that she had chuckled. Her finger was on her lower lip.

"So, you do have a pulse," she quietly confirmed.

His confusion showed. "What?"

"You have a really bad reaction time, but it's nice to see you have a pulse."

"O...kay…"

She smiled and took his bottle from his fingers. Blindly, she set it on the table next to hers and got on her knees on the cushions. She leaned over Luke and placed one hand on the sofa arm and the other on the back of the couch where he sat. He turned to face her some, his eyes taking in the bodily cage that she had put him in.

He started to call her name, but she leaned toward him and kissed his lips. She pulled back and looked at him. He sat frozen.

Again, she kissed his lips. She pulled back and smiled when she saw that his breathing had hitched but he still just sat there.

"React," she whispered just before her lips connected to his again. She disengaged in the next second.

Luke opened his eyes. "Lorel--"

"No 'Lorelai'," she murmured onto his lips before she kissed him again. "React."

When she kissed him again, she felt his fingers touch the side of her stomach, under her shirt.

"Mmm." She pulled back. "Electrifying," she whispered. She moved in and kissed him longer. She moved away. But not before using the tip of her tongue to tease his full, soft lips.

He moved under her, appearing to make himself more comfortable. Lorelai looked between them to see one of his legs stretched on the sofa and the other on the floor. She positioned her hands on the cushions around where he sat and lowered more of her body onto him.

Luke's head raised, and he met her lips. His tongue was caressing her bottom lip before the shot could be fired. Her lips parted, and his parted more. Their tongues touched, and moans followed. Soft mutual caress led to a long, hot, passionate, damn near jaw-dropping connection.

This was nothing unanticipated.

Heated head and mouth activity inspired lower body participation. It joined in and jumped to the highest level instantly.

The switch had been flipped.

Small hands rubbed a large chest. Large hands rubbed perky breasts. And soft things got hard. This was moving faster than Amtrak.

"Unnh." Lorelai moaned. "_Mmm_." She whimpered. "Oh g-god, god, god…" And she whispered and remixed that lovely feeling as Luke nibbled her neck.

Lorelai moved down and kissed his chest. She undid each button and kissed more on his undershirt. That got pushed away by her, and she was kissing his bare skin, the soft hairs on his stomach and chest tickling her chin.

Luke said her name in a gravelly voice. He was excited. Hard and showing the world the size of his endowment. The way he said Lorelai's name made her breathe harder. Her gorgeous eyes had taken colors of blue, grey, darker blue, and Aqua and had made a hypnotizing, tantalizing shade for arousal.

She moved down and got eye-level with his belt buckle. It got undone slowly as Luke squirmed beneath her. His mouth wouldn't close. It _refused_ to close as he watched her.

She licked her lips while looking at him, and Luke felt himself go three or four-- no, _ten_ times harder.

He was in pain in his jeans. Disclosure authority ingenuity blueprint

Then, he wasn't. He wasn't in pain…nor was he in his jeans.

He looked down to see Lorelai's hand stroking his bare member.

She fought with his jeans, trying to get them down more with her free hand. Luke offered her assistance. She looked up at him and smiled her beautiful smile. Luke's fingers went in her hair. He wanted to kiss her. She had other ideas.

Lorelai put the tip of his erection in her mouth. She held that position and stroked. And stroked. She descended with her mouth and came back up. She came off with a pop. She opened up and took him again, this time choosing to wind her mouth around his large head.

Luke watched. He was being stimulated to the point of black-out, and still, he watched.

Dear god, the image. The image was _incredible_.

Lorelai went down again with her mouth. She didn't go far. Luke's size let her know that doing that would not end well. So, she didn't over-reach. But she also didn't disappoint.

Lorelai used her own saliva and made him slick and easier to handle. Her oral skills were not to be played with.

She sucked him for a while longer.

When she went back up his body, Luke wrapped her waist and held her tight. His tongue went in her mouth. Her tongue went in his.

Kissing each other had become addictive, and they just couldn't get enough.

Lorelai had not let him go. She had her hand extended to his nether region and she was slowly stroking him. She took her hand from his shaft to his balls and gave them attention. Her right hand was on the side of his face. She kissed and sucked on his lips fervently as she fondled him, showcasing her ability to multi-task.

They got to their feet. And only then did she release him.

Lorelai's legs bumped the coffee table before she remembered the layout of her new space and maneuvered around it blindly. Her face was connected to Luke's.

He got her top and bra off as he kept walking into her. She backed up steadily. Her back went to the wall by the TV, and Luke lifted her leg and put it around his waist. She locked it and drew him inward. Passion got out of hand. Luke dry-humped her still-clothed lower half. Her moans made it sound like it was the real thing.

He reached between them and got her pants undone as he took sensation to her neck. Lorelai unhooked her leg and slid her jeans down with urgency.

Her jeans and underwear now on the floor, Lorelai stood before Luke naked. His erection lay against her, extending up her stomach.

With another pivot, Luke was walking her across the room to another area.

Lorelai felt cold wood hit her bottom. Luke's hands went around her and rested on the beautifully crafted mini-bar. He finally pulled his swollen lips away from hers. "Hop," he said huskily.

Her breaths were so heavy. "Hop?"

He nodded, his eyes now lowered to the thin layer of dark hair between her legs. "Yeah, hop," he answered, distracted.

She did so, causing Luke's area of focus to elevate.

He licked his lips then carefully positioned her so she was comfortable. With her hips on the very edge, his mouth went to her breasts. He sucked them slowly as if to savor. Lorelai's breaths came loud over his head. Minutes were lost.

When Luke went lower, he encouraged Lorelai to lay back.

At first, she seemed uncomfortable with her position on the bar. She felt she was going to roll off.

Luke's warm mouth encased her clit. And suddenly, rolling off and hitting the floor didn't matter at all to her.

He brought her legs over his shoulders and wrapped his hands around her thighs.

His tongue dipped in and out of her wetness. She was very, very wet. _Increasingly_ wet. She produced it faster than he could appreciate it.

Lorelai gripped the sides of the bar and sent blood rushing away from her fingers. Her eyes were shut tight. Words came from her mouth. Some made sense. Most did not. But boy did the words flow. Luke's name sounded like sweet song as it flowed out in repetition.

She groaned and tightened when her orgasms were near. There were a total of three, one of which seemed to roll on and on. It was the one that almost made her initial floor-hitting fear come to life.

They went from the bar to the floor.

Luke had entered her while she was partially on the bar. She'd lowered herself onto him and gasped as her slippery insides caused the majority of his length to go in. He leaned in and kissed her open mouth. He tried to maneuver them to give her more control when it seemed discomfort was what she felt. They didn't find much success. So Luke lay on the floor and Lorelai came to straddle him.

They tried it again.

Little by little, she lowered herself onto Luke.

He groaned, bit his lip, and grasped her sides.

Lorelai just closed her eyes, and her breaths told of each new inch that she was experiencing. The sensation was so much better.

She adjusted and became familiar with the way he fit inside of her. Luke's hands ran up then down her back in the most gentle way. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. Her rise and falls were slight. Her winds were insane. She rolled her hips and stared at him like there was love there.

Those intense stares led the way to kissing. Serious and passionate kisses that had their lower bodies coming together like the perfect Lego pieces.

Lorelai moaned and her body tightened, but she didn't allow Luke to pull back any.

She was so tight around him.

He grunted. Their lips separated. They breathed and moved. Kissed deep again. Then parted. Luke grunted louder.

Lorelai knew he was close. She knew he was fighting it back for her.

She moved her hand between their meshed bodies and put two fingers between her legs. Luke's lips parted. He couldn't see her motions, but his imagination was going crazy. He could feel her hand moving against him as she stimulated herself.

She watched his face, and she was able to see how turned on he was by her self-made delight. His hands went back to her sides, and he pushed her onto him hard. He checked her face for pain. Her mouth had fallen open, but it wasn't in pain.

He did it again and again. He lifted his pelvis and pushed into her from that angle, trying to hit her spot and make her explode in pleasure.

Lorelai's hand movement went faster.

That meant that he'd found it.

They breathed and moaned in sync as the hard penetration continued.

Lorelai cried out, and both hands went around him. Her head went to his chest. And she shook. Long, delicate shutters. The sounds of her whimpers let Luke know that it was a good one.

He erupted inside of her body. He shook too. More violently. But he held her soft body tightly and was able to keep from getting swept away in it.

Moments passed with them lying that way.

Luke pushed hair from her temple and kissed her there. She lifted her head and looked at him with a smile.

He spoke in a whisper. "So, was that a good enough reaction for you?"

She laughed some. "It was perfect," she revealed.

He smiled.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Night turned to day. And that day found two responsible, dutiful Stars Hollow business people still underground.

Low sounds of Brian McKnight played on the sound system. Before that it was Sade and before that, Maxwell had the floor. Even Alannah Myles had contributed some vocals to the mood. The station chose the music. And the station had to have known what it was doing. Each song was sexier than the last.

It perfected fluency between Luke and Lorelai. The bed of the couch was folded out. They were wrapped in sheets on top of it. Lorelai's legs were tight around Luke's waist, and he pushed into her. All the way into her.

Their kisses had infiltrated passion and transcended euphoria. It was somewhere in the place of saintly bliss.

Her hands roamed his back as they made love.

Her insides welcomed him over and over. He went deeper when it seemed he couldn't possibly hit another depth. Lorelai's body rewarded him with an orgasm. It was her second thank you.

Luke squeezed her thigh and rubbed down its length at the feeling. Her body and his body had something all their own.

Luke moved his mouth to her chest and took her nipple in his mouth. She moaned and her hand went to the other one. Luke stopped sucking and moved his eyes to her hand. For a long time, he just watched, his hips steadily working. He looked into her face, his breaths giving his desire outlet.

"Touch yourself, Lorelai," he whispered.

Her hand went from her breast straight down. She did as told, willing to grant every wish. Luke got in a position to see her fingers work. She massaged, rubbed, and squirmed at her own tease. He pumped faster, and her fingers worked more quickly. She unleashed moan after moan as she sexily bit her lip.

Luke turned attention away from the show when he took his tongue and lips back to her wet nipple.

He wanted to give her pleasure overload.

She climaxed in a powerful way and squeezed her knees for a moment to keep him from moving and making it unbearable.

He still was able to sink into her more, and she went crazy beneath him. She moved and bucked with her eyes shut tight. Her breath got sucked far back into her throat, and she seemed unable to locate it. Luke stopped, realizing that it really was possible to have 'too much of a good thing'.

He froze and tried not to make it any worse. Or _better_.

She came down way too slowly. Luke just watched her gorgeous face. Her eyes remained closed. Finally, she sighed. A tiny, happy, and relieved sigh. She opened her eyes to Luke then put her hands on the sides of his face, bringing his lips down to hers. She loosened her knees and took her legs higher on his back as she kissed him with zeal.

With that, he was off again.

His body begged for release, and the extended pause had only increased its plead.

He gave her twenty or so fulfilling strokes before he filled her.

She moaned sweetly and smiled at the feeling of his seed shooting inside of her.

No man had ever been allowed to shoot anything anywhere _near_ her womb. Even though she took the pill without fail every since Rory happened, it was still something she didn't stand for. What occurred eighteen years ago was an error in timing—one between two kids who thought they knew what they were doing. In that case, one swimmer had beat out the pack.

Luke put his love inside of her for the fourth time in two days.

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She used her vaginal muscles to squeeze him.

Luke returned her passion, then pulled back and started trailing kisses down her jaw.

"You're trying to kill me," he muttered.

She smiled and held him tighter.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke closed his eyes and took his hand from the back of the couch. His arm bent and that hand touched Lorelai's hair.

"So, then what happened?" she whispered in his ear. Her lips connected with the prickly hairs on his cheek.

Luke was fully dressed and sat facing the television on the couch in the basement. Lorelai had on runner's shorts and sat with her feet tucked on the side of her while turned toward Luke.

He had gone to work. She had not.

"I…uh…I poured some…um coffee and did some other stu—some other stuff," he answered distractedly. Lorelai's mouth was now on his neck. Her hand had slid from his stomach down to his crotch. His jean material became too tight in an instant.

She nodded at his answer and pulled away. "So, good morning?"

His eyes fell to where both her hands were working his pants zipper down. "Pretty good morning," he responded.

She pulled hardness out and stroked it to life even more. He looked and felt like steel in her hand.

"Glad the morning rush is over," she said. With that, she leaned down and covered his head with her hot mouth.

Luke gasped and laid his hand on her head. "M-me too."

Sounds from her oral stimulation took away quiet from the room. Luke tossed his head back and looked high for strength. He thrust upward and sent more inches into her mouth. She handled him well. Her head moved high and low in Luke's lap. She traced his vein with her tongue and went back to elevator-like stimulation.

For five minutes, she sucked Luke with everything she had. He exploded and his groan vibrated his whole body.

Luke's healthy eating habits made Lorelai want to applaud him when it came to the oral. He ate plants and drank water and juice like they were going out of style. His bodily fluids would have any woman not minding the mouth work.

Before Lorelai could put his little-big man back in its jean confine, Luke stopped her. He started stroking himself. He gestured for Lorelai to come closer, and after just watching his solo act with focused eyes for a moment, she did.

She straddled his thighs and he attacked her mouth as soon as it was close enough. Lorelai moaned loud. Her hand dropped down over his, and he took his hand away. She felt him. Moved her hand up and down just feeling him in her hand. He was getting hard again when she touched him and he went full on salute when she committed and wrapped her whole hand around his thick width.

He muttered unintelligibly.

She was turning him into a sex fiend. He was making her want to live and breathe thinking only of him inside of her.

Again, Luke turned to steel.

Their smooth, lustful kisses ended as Lorelai went from facing Luke to not facing Luke. They slid to the floor, and she hugged the table. With her shorts gone, her knees spread. Luke's tip rubbed up and down her wet outsides. She closed her eyes and asked him about his breakfast crowd.

He put one hand on each of her hips and sank into her. He answered her question by telling her about the unexpected bagel shortage.

She moaned deep and groaned long, trying to turn one of those sounds into a show of sympathy for him.

He made her come. She recovered and told him about her plans to re-hire Michel once the new inn opened.

His powerful thrusts told her she was crazy for letting the spiky-haired firebrand back in her life.

She hit another peak, and Luke had to pull out. His fingers searched out her clit, and he found it to be slippery when wet. His middle finger went into her and came out before he penetrated briefly. He asked her to turn and she did that.

Her back went on top of the table, and Luke's head went down to the center of her spread legs. Lorelai's teeth clenched and her eyes closed. She could feel Luke flicking his tongue fast on her area of sensitivity. Then he licked slowly up before he started with the sucking.

He moved away, got his pelvis level with hers and put himself back inside of her.

He moved his hips and made her love what he was doing. His slow, gentle winds turned fast and unkind when she was climaxing again. Her body movement made the sound of skin on skin ring off the basement walls. They shared the trophy in getting them both to that end.

Luke leaned down in exhaustion and rested his head on her stomach.

They sighed collectively and met eyes.

"Good talk, babe."

He nodded in concordance and lowered his head back onto her.

Lorelai dropped her head back onto the table.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke and Lorelai stood at the bottom of the basement stairs. Her arms were wrapped tight around his neck, and Luke mimicked the hold on her waist.

And they kissed.

Had _been_ kissing.

His hands dropped down to her backside, and he palmed and massaged her through her jeans. She was pulled up against a bulge that made her wet. She could feel that immediate downpour between her own legs as soon as that naughtiness had begun.

They gave tongue, used teeth, then gave more tongue as lips met lips in heated connection.

One of Lorelai's hands slid from Luke's neck to his chest. Kissing continued. Her hand went lower and her destination became clear when her fingers started working on his jean button.

He disengaged just enough to get one word out. "Stop." And again, they were kissing.

She stopped in her efforts and moved her hand back up his chest smoothly and back around his neck. She pulled her lips away just enough to get three words out. "You stop too." She moved back in to kiss, and Luke dipped to the side, and started on her neck. His palming stopped at Lorelai's words.

Her palm went to his neck and she softly rubbed at the hairs extending under his hat.

Luke's kissing and sucking became gradual. Lorelai's hold loosened. His lips left her skin, and they stayed in place for a few seconds.

Then, both backed away. Their eyes were locked on each other. Lorelai smiled. Breathing was fast, then it started to slow.

"We did it," she said, containing excitement.

He nodded, smiled. "It wasn't easy, though."

She shrugged. "But we did it. It wasn't _too_ hard."

He gave her a knowing look. "Because I stopped you before you _could get it_ there." She giggled. Luke took off his hat and laid it on the stairs. He started undoing his flannel. "Tomorrow," he began, "we're going to do it just like that. _Just like that_," he stressed. "Nothing extra. Little goodbye kiss then we go our separate ways."

She nodded. "Okay."

He looked down as he undid his shirt buttons. "We can do this, Lorelai," he said with weak certainty.

"We can," she followed. She watched his hands work.

"We _have_ to do this."

"I know."

"The Dragonfly needs you. And I need to put in some real time at the diner." Luke finished with his buttons and took off his flannel.

"Mmhm." Her eyes were on his chest.

"We haven't gotten a thing done in four days. That's a long time to get nothing accomplished."

"Long time, yeah. Forever almost," she said too quickly to have been paying attention to his words.

It was eleven at night. His diner had closed an hour ago. His 16-hour a day business had had five hours of his time that day. The Dragonfly didn't even have _that_ much from Lorelai.

Luke's hands went to his hips. He stood there in boots, jeans, and a white T-shirt.

"Tomorrow morning is game time. Do we need to do another practice round?" She smiled wide and shook her head. "Are you _sure_?" She nodded giddily. Luke's eyes traveled down her body. She had on nothing spectacular. Jeans and a t-shirt. But Luke's gaze made her feel like a Victoria's Secret model. His eyes went back to hers. "Every time we kiss, it doesn't have to lead to something," he continued.

"I know."

"We do have self-control. We're two adults here with rational minds." He went on with his pep talk. Lorelai's eyes went back to his chest and lower. His kiss still lingered on her lips.

Luke sighed and folded his arms. He felt the urge to initiate conversation. "So, how's the inn coming along?" he asked out of left field.

Lorelai smirked and looked into his face. "It's coming," she answered. "More than I can say for me right now."

He glared at her and didn't let her deter him. "Okay...um…" He searched for somewhere else to take dialogue. "Oh yeah! Uh, your sign. I'll get to work on that tomorrow. It won't take long for me to do. I'll hang it over the bar like you suggested."

She nodded with a smile while keeping her mouth closed. She was so not interested in continuing discussion at that point. But she nodded at the mention of the sign. She'd finally named the basement space, and Luke was going to create a visual.

_Ls' Play Den_.

The name came to her while she and Luke were in a 69.

The apostrophe moved in her mind. It started in the middle then shifted one space over in the next second. And that's where it remained. Anyone who saw the sign would probably think that an error had been made. But that slight shift wasn't accidental. It had taken it from singular to plural ownership. Lorelai had not explained the apostrophe position to Luke yet. She'd do that later. She'd _argue_ with him later. Because there would definitely be dispute when he, not only learned of his inclusion, but when he realized the double meaning of the title.

As he stood before her, Luke continued trying to create conversation.

"Did you watch anything good on TV while I was gone?"

"Sure."

He paused. "What was it about?"

"Little of this. Little of that." She smiled at him.

He rolled his eyes away from her and her hopelessness. She seemed to have borrowed his monosyllabic tongue. But for her, there was legitimacy. She and Luke had spent eight long years _talking_. She didn't see a problem pushing it aside for a few newer ventures for a while.

Luke still tried to get conversation from her. "I brought a burger for you from the diner." He asked exhaustedly, "Have you eaten anything today?"

"Yeah, leftovers."

"Okay." He seemed satisfied with her first real answer. "Good. Least that's something."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's good."

He stared at her momentarily. "I've eaten too."

She stared at him.

He went on. "Guess it's uh…time for dessert," he said calmly. Lorelai started smiling slowly. When his lips began to curl, she lit up. Luke pointed at her. "Whip cream topping sound good to you?"

"It's my fav. What are we putting it over?"

He smirked. "We'll find something to do with it."

She grinned and swayed.

He shook his head at her happiness. "You go up and get it, and I'll stay down here and look for some Pepto Bismal to take."

Lorelai laughed merrily. She moved into him and kissed his lips. "Be right back," she whispered.

Luke mumbled grumpily then tapped her rear as she hurried away. He took off his shirt and tossed it aside then made his way to the couch to get it ready.

"Maybe tomorrow…" he whispered.

**-The End-**

The End, The End, Lalalalalaaaaala!

I really need a break. I'm Gilmore pooped. Gilmore'd out. Gilmore tired. Gotta love it though!

Happy 2009 everyone!


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